The Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership was signed in Tokyo on 17 July 2018. Signatories: Shinzo Abe, Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk. Parties: the EU and Japan. Article 23.8: equally authentic texts in the official languages of the Union and in Japanese, the negotiating-language text prevailing in case of divergence. Reciprocal notifications: 21 December 2018. Article 23.3: entry into force on the first day of the second month — 1 February 2019. It is not the EU–Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed on the same occasion.

Article 1.1: the objectives are to liberalise and facilitate trade and investment and to promote a closer economic relationship. The preamble invokes sustainable development, SMEs and environmental and labour standards. The agreement has 23 chapters, from goods to final provisions.

Chapter 2 covers national treatment and market access for goods, without transcribing tariff lists. Chapter 8: services, investment liberalisation and electronic commerce. Chapter 10: government procurement. Chapter 14: intellectual property, including geographical indications, at framework level, without an enforcement playbook. Chapter 16: trade and sustainable development.

Chapter 21: dispute settlement by consultations, mediation and, where needed, a panel — treaty procedure, not a litigation handbook. Chapter 22: a Joint Committee, co-chaired by a Member of the European Commission and a Japanese representative at ministerial level, meets yearly. Article 23.4: termination takes effect six months after notice. Article 23.5: the agreement confers no direct rights on persons.

Cover: the Kantei, the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Tokyo, the seat of the Japanese government; we do not claim the hall. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: Japan–European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership.